Objectives
The construct of the osteopathic structure-function models is reported as a cornerstone of clinical reasoning and treatment processes. Nevertheless, there are no shared procedures described for their use in clinical practice. The present narrative review aims to analyze a more comprehensive perspective on the phenomenon.
Methods
A structured narrative review was conducted. A database search was conducted using Pubmed, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar. Peer-reviewed papers without specifying limits on dates and design were included.
Results
Twenty-five findings were reported and grouped into two main themes: 1) Debate on models and theoretical frameworks for osteopathic care; 2) Clinical reasoning and decision-making process in the osteopathic field.
Conclusions
An integrated osteopathic care approach based on the structure/function models represents a starting point to establish a shared osteopathic diagnostic and clinical reasoning and an evidence-informed practice promoting health in an interdisciplinary person-centered care process. The present review highlights the limited amount of literature on using osteopathic conceptual models in decision-making and treatment strategies. A research plan is required to develop a common framework for an evidence-based osteopathic practice that promotes well-being in an interdisciplinary person-centered care process.
Historical osteopathic principles and practices (OPP)—considering the patient as a dynamic interaction of the body, mind, and spirit and incorporating the body’s self-healing ability into care—are inherited from traditional/complementary and alternative (CAM) principles. Both concepts are familiar to contemporary osteopathic practitioners, but their incorporation into healthcare for evidence-informed, patient-centered care (PCC) remains unclear. Further, a polarity exists in the osteopathic profession between a ‘traditional-minded’ group following historical OPP despite evidence against those models and an ‘evidence-minded’ group following the current available evidence for common patient complaints. By shifting professional practices towards evidence-based practices for manual therapy in line with the Western dominant biomedical paradigm, the latter group is challenging the osteopathic professional identity. To alleviate this polarity, we would like to refocus on patient values and expectations, highlighting cultural diversity from an anthropological perspective. Increasing an awareness of diverse sociocultural health assumptions may foster culturally sensitive PCC, especially when including non-Western sociocultural belief systems of health into that person-centered care. Therefore, the current medical anthropological perspective on the legacy of traditional/CAM principles in historical OPP is offered to advance the osteopathic profession by promoting ethical, culturally sensitive, and evidence-informed PCC in a Western secular environment. Such inclusive approaches are likely to meet patients’ values and expectations, whether informed by Western or non-Western sociocultural beliefs, and improve their satisfaction and clinical outcomes.
Context
The Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 was approached with a variety of management techniques available at that time, including osteopathic care in addition to standard medical care.
Objective
To analyze the osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) techniques used for the management of patients affected by the Spanish flu according to four themes: the principles and procedures used, frequency and length of OMT, reported side effects, and advice for patients.
Methods
A structured review of the literature was performed by hand-searching texts at the Museum of Osteopathic Medicine International Center for Osteopathic History in Kirksville, Missouri, and online via PubMed (National Library of Medicine), ScienceDirect (Elsevier), and Google Scholar (Google, Inc). The literature search was carried out between February and March 2020. Three keywords were selected from the medical subject headings database of the National Library of Medicine: manipulation, osteopathic; influenza pandemic, 1918–1919; epidemics. Articles were then reviewed for relevance by screening for articles published between 1900 and 1940 that contained at least 1 of the following keywords in their title: Spanish influenza, flu, epidemic, grippe, pneumonia, or osteopathic management/treatment. All articles that provided information about OMT and advice met the inclusion criteria. Articles that did not report descriptions of manipulative intervention were excluded.
Results
Our search yielded 63 articles: 23 from the hand-search and 40 from the electronic search. No electronic source was selected for the review because none met inclusion criteria. A total of 16 articles from the hand-searched set met inclusion criteria and were analyzed according to the four main themes stated in the objective. The range of OMT approaches reported to be administered to patients with Spanish flu suggests that early osteopathic physicians treated patients with this disease using OMT in addition to offering advice on healthy lifestyle behaviors.
Conclusion
Conclusions from this study are limited by the historical and descriptive nature of the data gathered, which lacked the rigor of modern-day scientific studies. However, this review could lead to future research inquiries on the effectiveness of these approaches. Osteopathic physicians and osteopaths should embrace their historical osteopathic heritage by continuing the work of our predecessors and combining their hands-on experience and osteopathic principles with modern medical treatment and rigorous scientific standards.
Background: In the field of manual therapies there is a growing interest in moving from passive hands-on approaches to patient active approaches. In the osteopathic field there are both active and passive methods described as integrated in the process of care. However, this prospective linkage has not been formally explored and is not well shared in the community of practice. The present review aims to appraise the relevant literature on the functioning and principles of Patient active osteopathic approaches (PAOAs) and explore a prospective model for selecting the different types of PAOA, highlighting their integration into patient management strategies. Methods: A scoping review was conducted to analyze the relevant literature on the functioning and the different principles of PAOA and to obtain a comprehensive perspective on the phenomenon. Results: The eligible articles provide insights into the mechanisms of functioning and principles of application of active approaches to be integrated with hands-on approaches. These results provide new insights into the relevance of PAOA to clinical practice. Conclusions: The proposal, emerging from the review, may promote discussions in the community of practice and provide a road map for research towards achieving an evidence-based structure for PAOA.
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